• Group photo taken 1911. Included are the names written on the back of the photo. Two versions of the photo are shown -- size-as and very much enlarged of the students only -- plus a scan of the names written on the back. The names have been expanded through information received from an Ashbury College researcher. First names have been given to most of the boys and those who were killed in World War I are shown.
• Probably Ashbury College. A group of about 60 men and boys of all ages, with the younger ones dressed for racing or other sport. Photo taken c.1900, in front of a building with a distinctive design on the doors. Can anyone identify the location for certain? Note the teacher holding a hand-gun! He is one of two teachers who are probably in the photo above which is definitely of Ashbury College.
  • Compare two of the teachers in the two photos above. I believe this proves that the second photo is of an Ashbury College class.
• JACKSON Homestead at 212 Springfield Road, later sold to Ashbury College. Fifteen people are gathered on the verandah.
  • Enlargement of group on verandah in the photo above.

• These are links to my genealogy website and to the LCGS website. Pages will be displayed in a new browser window.
• Disjunction Certificate, John DOBIE & Mary BARBER. Document written in Tortherwald, DFS, SCT., 1820. They first settled in Lanark County, Ont., then where did they go?
• DOBIE-SMITH Bible This family first settled in Lanark County, Ontario, then moved on to Chesley, Bruce County, Ont. Surnames: Dobie, Elliot, Graham, Halliday, Holliday, Houston, Knox, Livingston, Mair, Mclellan, Newell, Smith, Tatlock, Walls. This link is to the Lanark County Genealogical Society website.
• DOBBIE Families of Lanark County My research notes. Mostly taken from the Perth Courier.
• Photo of Hannah DOBBIE of Lanark County, Ont., and her daughter Theressa McGonegal, circa 1930.

• Elphin School class about 1910. Elphin is a small unincorporated village about 5 km west of McDonalds Corners, at the junction of County roads 36 and 12. See Elphin on Google Maps. This photo was found with a large collection of photos of Elphin area people, in the landfill at the McDonalds Corners municipal dump. (See the Izatt photo collection below). This school is just east of Elphin and is now a private home.
  • Enlargement of the above photo showing the students only. Five of the 20 students have been identified. Surnames are: Balfour, Duncan, Gordon, McIntyre. However, there must be one and probably two Izatt children there too.
• Elphin School class about 1912 or 1913. Twenty-three students and their teacher. George Gordon is common to this photo and the one above.
• George GORDON and Hilda BEATTY, 1926 wedding invitation and photo. The hand-written invitation is for the reception held at the Elphin Hall on Wed., Dec. 1st, 1926.
• Downtown Elphin about 1900. Don't yet know the exact date, but the telegraph lines have been installed.
  • Same scene in 2006. I'll re-take this photo sometime when the leaves have fallen.
• Elphin Public School students in 1920. Scan of a photo published in The Perth Courier about 2001. All 34 students and teacher are identified, however when you compare this photo with the circa 1910 photo above, you will see that several of the students appear in both, and there seems to be less than 10 years difference in their ages. Surnames are: Balfour, Brownlee, Buchan, Duncan, Dunlop, Geddes, Izatt, Lake, McDougall, Millar, Miller, Scott, Smith, Thompson, Weir.
• Elphin Public School students in 1953-54. Thanks to Robert E. Macaulay for this photo which was photocopied from a newspaper. Robert spent his first two years of teaching in Elphin and he is the only one identified.
• Elphin Ontario, "Council No. 357, R. T. of T." medal. Seems to be 1880's to early 1900's. Possibly from a temperance society. Can you identify it?

This photo collection is now in the Lanark County Archives.

•   121 Photos, only a few identified. This collection of photographs was found in an old suitcase in the landfill at the McDonalds Corners municipal dump. Many of the photo locations are farms and other rural areas, and except in a couple of cases, not enough background is shown to identify their location. Some photos show town or city houses, and in one case, what seems to be a large city school. One photo almost certainly was taken in downtown McDonalds Corners, Ontario, and another is of a class at the Elphin school. I'll need your help to identify the others. Studio photos were taken in Perth and Brockville, Ontario, while others were taken in Manitoba at studios in Brandon and Winnipeg, and yet another is from "Irvine" with no state or province given. In addition, a photo booklet, "The Town Of Souris", was found with the photos. Only a few people are identified; they are: Lyle Keith Bulloch, Essie and Meda Caldwell (identified as being from Watsons Corners), Robert Carmichael, Robert John Ferguson, John Fletcher (photo taken in Irvine), Mrs. Allan Izatt, and Mary Rae Kellie. This collection presents a fascinating puzzle -- about the only thing that can be assumed is that the people shown here are connected in some way to the Izatt family -- relatives, friends or neighbours. (Updated July 2, 2012)
  Click here to see the menu of photos.
•   IZATT notes and facts. Information gathered on this family since posting the photo collection above. The connection between these Izatts and two families in Souris and Reston Manitoba has now been made clear. Surnames so far are: Allen, Bulloch, Caldwell, Ferguson, Izatt, Millar, O'Connor, Pudd, Ranger. (Updated July 2, 2012)
• See Elphin on Google Maps.

• A collection of photos with descendant lists. The Maxwell and Robertson families arrived in Lanark County, Ontario, circa 1820, and had at least two marriages between them. One branch left Lanark County about 1880 and settled in Snowflake, Manitoba. Other family members spread throughout North America, and as far away as Mexico.
  If you click on a surname link above, a descendant list will be displayed with links to photos of specific people. Or you can see a menu of the photos arranged by family.
  I'm still working on this collection and will update it with more photos after some questions have been resolved.
  Many thanks to Craig Maxwell for the photos -- Craig, your email address no longer works -- and to for updated info on the two families.
• Letter from James and Margaret Robertson to Alexander Pringle. This letter was written from Lanark Ontario in 1845 to their nephew Alexander Pringle in Cobourg Ontario.

• Many thanks to Laraine Maltby Smith for this series of class photos.
•   S.S. No. 5 Chinguacousy Township. This is a modern photo of the schoolhouse. All of the S.S. No. 5 Chinguacousy Twp. photos below were taken with the students in front of the side wall. (Added March 10, 2013)
•   S.S. No. 5 Chinguacousy Township, 1899 class photo. Class of 18 students plus their teacher, Mr. Murdock. All but five students are identified. Surnames so far: Fewster, Hunter, Ingram, McClure, Murdock, Smith, Thompson. (Added March 10, 2013)
•   S.S. No. 5 Chinguacousy Township, 1907 class photo. Class of 25 students plus their teacher, Miss M.A. McColl. All are identified. Surnames: Black, Farnsworth, Hunter, Hutton, McClure, McColl, Moore, Sharpe, Smith, Trimble, Williamson. (Added March 10, 2013)
•   S.S. No. 5 Chinguacousy Township, 1914 class photo. Class of 25 students plus their teacher, Miss Chishom. Eleven students now identified: Surnames so far: Fraser, McClure, Sterritt, Winters. (Updated April 11, 2013)
•   S.S. No. 5 Chinguacousy Township, 1931 class photo. Class of 26 students plus their teacher, Miss Peck. All are identified, including the names of four absent students. Surnames: Balaam, Bevis, Black, Byrne, Clark, Divell, Fletcher, Henshaw, Jarvie, King, Marshall, McCanless, McClure, McGee, Pearson, Peck, Reed, Walwork, Willis. (Added March 10, 2013)
•   S.S. No. 5 Chinguacousy Township, 1935 class photo. Class of 22 students with no teacher. All are identified. Surnames: Berbee, Bisco, Black, Clark, Divell, Fletcher, Henshaw, Howard, Jarvie, McClure?, McGee, Moffat, South, Walwork. (Added March 10, 2013)
•   S.S. No. 5 Chinguacousy Township, 1937 class photo. Class of 19 students plus their teacher, Miss McKenna. All are identified. Surnames: Berbee, Black, Divell, Fletcher, Henshaw, Howard, Jarvie, McGee, McKenna, South, Sterritt, Walwork. (Added March 10, 2013)
•   S.S. No. 5 Chinguacousy Township, 1939 class photo. Class of 28 students plus their teacher, Miss McKenna. All are identified. Surnames: Berbee, Black, Buttery, Copeland, Crozier, Davey, Divel, Dixon, Howard, Jarvie, McKenna, Moffat, Moore, South, Sterritt. (Added March 10, 2013)
•   S.S. No. 5 Chinguacousy Township, 1943 class photo. Class of 32 students plus their teacher, Mrs. Leon. All are identified. Surnames: Ashmore, Berbee, Black, Buttery, Davey, Dixon, Fendley, Fraser, Jarvie, Law, Leon, McClure, Moffat, Ollis, Piper, Pratley, Sterritt, Swackhammer, Tosh. (Added March 10, 2013)
•   S.S. No. 5 Chinguacousy Township, 1944 or 1945 class photo. Class of 32 students plus their teacher, Mrs. McKay. None of the students are identified, but some can be recognized in the 1946 class photo. (Added March 10, 2013)
•   S.S. No. 5 Chinguacousy Township, 1946 class photo. Class of 38 students plus their teacher, Mrs McKay. Twenty-two students identified: surnames so far: Ashmore, Babcock, Clarridge, Dickson, Finley, Fraser, Hillick, Jarvey, Kingdon, Law, McClure, McKay, Moffit, Murray, Ollis, Schwakhammer, Sterritt. (Updated April 11, 2013)
•   S.S. No. 5 Chinguacousy Township, circa 1951/52 class photo. Class of 43 students plus their teacher, Mrs. Wadge. All but one are identified. Surnames so far: Ashmore, Babcock, Burrows, Bush, Davis, Delill, Fraser, Frost, Hendriks, Hutton, King, Kingdon, Law, Lomas, MacLean, Maltby, Mara, Merklinger, Morris, Murphy, Murray, O'Connor, Osborne, Pearson, Sullivan, Swackhammer, Vandergust, Wadge, Zoltek. (Added March 10, 2013)
•   Huttonville P.S., "Junior Room", 1951 class photo. Class of 19 students plus their teacher. Nobody is identified. (Added March 10, 2013)
•   Huttonville P.S., Grades 4, 5 & 6, 1952 class photo. Class of 42 students plus their teacher, Miss Menary. Four students are unidentified. Surnames so far: Ashmore, Babcock, Burrows, Cardinal, Cordingley, Davis, Downton, England, Frost, Harston(?), Haynes, Hendriks, Hutton, Kingdon, Lacey, Lockhurst, Madill, Marshment, McClure, Menary, Merklinger, Morris, Muir, Murphy, Noble, Pennycook, Petri, Pollard, Poole, Snider, Soames, Taylor, Thrower, Trimble, Webster, Whitlaw. (Added March 10, 2013)
•   Huttonville P.S., Grades 6, 7 & 8, 1956 class photo. Class of 31 students with no teacher. Surnames: Arthey, Barrett, Berry, Burrows, Burton, Cooley, Haynes, Hufton, Kingshott, Law, Lockhurst, Marshment, McGillvary, McGonigal, Moore, Pennycook, Smith, Soames, Stewart, Swerdfeger, Taylor, Thrower, Trimble, Veenstra, Warren, Wrenn. (Corrected April 17, 2013)
•   Huttonville P.S., Grades 7 & 8, 1957 class photo. Class of 23 students. Two students are unidentified. Surnames so far: Arthey, Barratt, Burton, Collins, Cooley, Haynes, Hufton, Law, Lockhurst, Marshment, McGonigal, Moore, Pennycook, Soames, Sovereign, Stewart, Swerdfeger, Trimble, Wrenn. (Updated April 19, 2013)

• Many thanks to Kathleen Anne Palmer-O'Neil for this series of histories and photos of her family. They are arranged roughly in chronological order by generation.
• Marion Umpherson Prentice, a short history. Marion, who married James Prentice in 1874, was Kathleen Anne Palmer-O'Neil's great-grandmother. After being widowed in 1880, she was a seamstress in Lanark Village from about 1890 until her death in 1918. Surnames mentioned: Manion, McCargan / McCargar, Cohen, McLean, Molyneaux, Pepper, Prentice, Rice, Umpherson, Umpherston, Waddell.
• James Lorne Prentice, cheesemaker. James (1879-1951) was the son of James Prentice and Marion Umpherson Prentice (item above). He was a Lanark County cheesemaker and worked for many years at Balderson Cheese. Surnames mentioned: Closs, Crandall, Darou, Graham, Gunn, McLean, Molyneaux, Palmer, Pate, Prentice, Umpherson.
• James McLean, Lanark Village tailor. James (1871-1940) was the husband of Agnes Kathleen Prentice, daughter of James Prentice and Marion Umpherson Prentice. Surnames mentioned: Baker, Campbell, Crain, Gunn, McFadden, McLean, McVean, Molyneaux, Paul, Prentice, Scott, Umpherson.
• Marion Kathleen McLean and Mary Dunnett. Marion (1903-1996) was the daughter of Agnes Kathleen Prentice and James McLean (item above). She had a children's clothing store in Perth for many years, and lived with her partner Mary Dunnett. Surnames mentioned: Bush, Dunnett, McBride, McLean, Prentice.
• More Prentice photographs. Four photos which wouldn't fit into the short histories above. Surnames are: Graham, Molyneaux, Prentice.
• Lanark Township people, 27 photos. There are two large group photos, one with 33 women and girls, the other with mostly children and teens. The others are mostly studio portraits and family groups. Nobody is identified but they are associated in some way with the following families: Closs, Easton, Fleming, Gibson, Graham, Gunn, McKinlay, McLean, Molyneaux, Paul, Prentice, Rankin, Umpherson.

• Family of William PURDON & Elizabeth McDOUGALL, McDonald's Corners, Ont. (about 1880's?).
  • Enlargement of the people in the above photo. Everyone is now identified and a short history of this Purdon family is included. Surnames are: Clement, Dahlka, Lett, McDonald, McDougall, McIntyre, Proven, Purdon, Rathwell, Stewart, Teahan, Waite.
• Family of Robert PURDON and his wives Betsy & Jane THOM, about 1890. Robert Purdon was an older brother of William Purdon, above. Born in 1836 in Dalhousie Twp., he died in 1910 in Wingham, Huron County, Ont. A short history and a descendant list is included.
  Surnames: Dawson, Henderson, Laidlaw, MacKay, Purdon, Stein, Taylor, Thom.
• Jane (THOM) PURDON and family, taken after Robert's death.
• An email from Janet Gosior says: " I published a book on the Purdon families of Dalhousie Twp. in 2000. There has been a demand lately for copies so I have just reprinted it. (Anyone interested) can email me at purdonhistory@canada.com.
  More info is available on the website http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~purdon/ "

• Many thanks to Taylor Kennedy for sending me this collection of photographs.
• Waverley School, early 1900's. Three class photos, nobody identified. They seem to be from the 1920's-1930's. Surnames mentioned, but students not identified: Brock, French, Johnson, Swan. Can you help?
• Waverley School, circa 1935-1940. Two class photos. Only Barry Swan and Mrs. Rowat are identified. Can you help?
• Waverley Ont., Remembrance Day Celebration. Village crowd, perhaps 1920. They may be dedicating the cenotaph. Can you provide details?

• See Greg Chown's Lost Toronto history blog.
•   Map of The City of Toronto, before 1886. This map of what is now downtown Toronto was scanned from the 1886 edition of 'Toronto "Called Back", 1886 to 1850,' published in 1886. (Added April 8, 2013)
• Ontario Veterinary College Class of 1905. Thanks to Taylor Kennedy for this photo and identification of the names under each slightly fuzzy medallion portrait. Most are identified and a name will pop up when you put the cursor over a portrait. OVC was located in Toronto until it moved to Guelph in 1922. Surnames so far: Anderson, Bair, Bay, Beamer, Benjamin, Broadfoot, Brother, Byer, Campbell, Carmack, Carr, Chappele, Christian, Clark, Cordick, Cottrill, Cowan, Coxe, Crooks, Deavenport, Decow, Dettman, Dewar, Drown, Estay, Fulcher, Galbraith, Gibson, Gordon, Greenwood, Haggerty, Henrickson, Hilton, Humphrey, Hunter, Johannes, Jones, Kain, Keller, Kidder, Knight, Labrosse, Lane, Lavery, Lawton, Lenton, Lloyd, Lowery, Mahon, Matthew, McCartney, McCreight, McLeish, McNally, McNeil, Meiser, Mollison, Montague, Moore, Morgan, Myers, Newton, Pearce, Philip, Pinhorn, Porter, Pugh, Ross, Russell, Scott, Sears, Shearer, Spidell, Stoner, Sweeney, Thompson, Tiffany, Titterud, Tornquist, Valentine, Walters, Watson, West, Winans, Young.
• Queens Rifles Band, circa 1945. Thanks to Taylor Kennedy for this photo. Twenty-eight men are in the band but only Harold Conner is identified. Can you identify anyone else?
•   Picket at Toronto City Hall, Summer, 1970. Joe A. Lauwers felt he had been betrayed by the Canadian Government when they confiscated his passport and deported his nine-year-old daughter without cause, so he took his message to the public, written on four large bread-boards. (Corrected January 27, 2013)
• The McCaul Street Memorial Co-op, Summer, 1970. About 40 houses in the block bounded by Beverley, Cecil, Henry and Baldwin Streets were owned by Toronto Hydro who evicted the tenants because they wanted to demolish them. Here are 39 photos of the tenants and of the officials who served the papers and tore down the signs. Plus a scan of the information leaflet published by the Co-op. People identified so far: Dan Heap, William Kilbourn, Bob McArthur, John Phillips, John Sewell.
• Free Lighthouse Concert, City Hall, Sept. 20, 1970. Featured bands were Lighthouse and Mudflat, which was the warm-up band. This was an amazing performance. I've posted 33 photos here from four rolls of film.
• Wedding at the Huron St. Community Hall. The hall at 15 Huron St. was the unoficial headquarters of the American war resister and deserter community. These 19 photos show a wedding between an American draft resister and Canadian woman.
• Anti-War Measures Act Demonstration, 1970. Fourty-four photos by Charles Dobie. Because of the FLQ crisis in Quebec, the Canadian Government invoked the War Measures Act on Friday, October 16, 1970, which suspended most civil rights. This demonstration in the square at Toronto's City Hall, was held at 2 p.m. the next day. Some of the speakers were Terry Campbell, Harry Kopyto, Joan Newbigging, Nancy Pocock, Clayton Ruby, and Rob Varley. Participants: George Addison, Al Cappe, Mike Constable, Martin Freeman, Stan Gray, Greg King, Jessie McKenzie, Vern Olson, Harry Stone, Zoltan Szoboszloi, Chris Therott, John Wilson, Joseph Young, Peter Zorzi. Were you there? You might see yourself in the crowd.
  •   Anti-War Measures Act Demonstration, 1970. Fourteen photos by Al Darlington. Same demo, different photographer for Guerilla newspaper. Good portraits of several of the speakers, including George Atkinson, C.S. Jackson and Nancy Pocock. (Updated April 28, 2013)
  • Poster for the anti-War Measures Act Demonstration, 1970. This poster was issued by New Democratic Youth.
• Anti-Vietnam War demonstration, summer, 1970. One of the many anti-war demonstrations in front of the US Consulate by Maoist communists. I don't know the official name of this particular group but I'm sure someone will tell me. Twelve photos, nobody yet identified.
• Anti-Vietnam War demonstration, summer, 1972/3. An anti-Vietnam War rally which must have started at St. James Church. The route is confusing but the photos are posted in the order taken. I don't know where it ended -- possibly I ran out of sunlight or time. One group identified is "Jan. 20 Action Coalition".
• Toronto Street and People Photography, mostly 1970 & 1971
  • Book Sale at Maple Leaf Gardens, 1970. The inside of Maple Leaf Gardens was crammed with books and book buyers. Not to mention a camel. Six photos.
  • Free Rabies Clinic, 1970. Eight photos of a free rabies clinic for pets. The location is unknown, but it was a residential neighbourhood with construction cranes in the distance. I'm guessing it might be the Christie Pits area.
  • Baldwin Street, September, 1970. Children in front of the Baldwin Street Gallery being photographed by Laura Jones and the late John Phillips. Also a small music festival held on the sidewalk almost next door to the Gallery, in front of The Yellow Ford Truck store. Nine photos.
  •   Kid Bastien's Camelia Band at Grossman's Tavern. Some time in 1970. (Added May 8, 2012)
  • Hari Krishna kids on Yonge Street. October, 1970. These four photos were on the same roll of film as the Anti-War Measures Act demo, above.
  • People on Yonge Street, 1971. Crowds and individuals photographed on Yonge Street.
  •   Kensington Market, 1971 or 1972. Twenty photos taken one afternoon on a walk through the market. Stores so far identified are: Europa Butcher, N. Goldlist Poultry Market, Kaplan's Cheese House, possibly Lottman's Bakery. (Updated January 27, 2013)
  •   Guerilla Newspaper, 1970 and summer of 1971. Three photos, one taken inside their office at 201 Queen St. East, and another taken outside. Also a portrait of Al Darlington, photographer. Other surnames are Constable, Dobie, Hardiman, Hutchinson. (Photo added May 8, 2012)
  • Street photos, autumn of 1972. Eighteen photos taken in the early fall of 1972. I walked from my home in Cabbagetown, east along Carlton Street to Allan Gardens, photographing some of the people I met. This includes a rally of the Edmund Burke Society which was in progress in Allan Gardens. Then to City Hall, Spadina Ave., and then to the site of the just-demolished Toronto Star building on King Street.
  • Inside the Toronto Star. Eight photos in total, one from 1970 of the late John McDonald, sports writer. Also seven photos from the early or mid-1980's, taken inside the composing room when the Star was transitioning from "hot metal" production to photo-typesetting.
• Toronto, Ontario: Four Cyrillic gravestones which I photographed in Toronto Necropolis & Crematorium in 2005. I originally assumed they were Russian, but have since been told that three are Macedonian and one is Bulgarian. Complete translations of the inscriptions are now given. Surnames are: Bobov, Dzhogomanov, Iliov, Markov.

•   This photograph album was found in a Toronto bookstore in the mid or late 1980's. The photos span about 15 years -- the first 30 pages were taken at Cassumit Lake (about 120 km north-west of Red Lake) in northern Ontario, and record the construction of one or more mines there and the transfer of heavy equipment to them by aircraft. Subsequent pages seem to consist of photos of friends and/or relatives of the album's owner and range from Ontario and Winnipeg to Nova Scotia, with one photo seeming to be of a mountain town (in Alberta or BC?).
• Photos of aircraft with the following registration numbers were taken at Cassumit Lake: CF-AAT, CF-ABK, CF-AQW, CF-ARM, CF-AWV.
• The following locations are identified: Cassumit Lake (ON), Deep Brook (NS), Dobie Townsite (ON), Halifax, Hatt Cove (NS), Kenogami (ON), Kerr Addison (ON), Temagami (ON), Winnipeg -- but most of the photos have no location given.
• The following names are identified: Donnie Baird; Briden; Nancy & Brian Buckles or Bucklis or Buckus; the Cassidy Children; Peter & David Chillas; Allyn, Nancy & Tommy Clark; Connors; Mary Cooks; Ann Cooks; Jane Dewar & sister; May deWitt; Mrs Gaudore or Gadaure; the Goddards; Janet Goodman; Heather Jakeman; Mrs Matthews; Miss McAlpine; Mary McDonald; Miss McMillan; Peter McPeak or McPeat; Keltie Munroe; Miss Penton; Eleanor Perkins; Charlie Putnam; Belle Roberts; Carol Simm; Bill Smitheringale; Frankie Stanley; Tyrell; Patsy Webster; Williams; Peter, Grace & Charlotte Woodbury. Note that there are more people identified only by their given name or by initials. (Added May 8, 2013)

•   Atikokan is in northwestern Ontario, about 200 km. west of Thunder Bay and 150 km east of Fort Frances. See Atikokan on Google Maps. Sapawe is a small village on the railroad about 10 miles east of Atikokan. We moved to Atikokan in January of 1953, when the town's reason for being was Steep Rock Iron Mines, which was operating the world's largest open pit iron mine, and Caland Ore, which was mining a separate part of the same pit. At its height in the 1960's, three mines produced millions of tons of iron ore annually. I was there until I left high school to join the Canadian Navy in the fall of 1960. The mines have long since closed but Atikokan struggles on, marketing itself as "The Canoeing Capital of Canada". I will be adding to this section regularly now that I'm starting to scan my old color slides and black & white negatives. Click here to see the menu. (Updated May 14, 2013)

•   Kearns and Virginiatown are two small towns in north-eastern Ontario, situated almost on the Quebec border between Kirkland Lake Ont., and Rouyn Quebec. See Kearns & Virginiatown on Google Maps. We lived in Virginiatown from about 1943 to about 1947, then made the one-mile move to Kearns where we lived until January 1953. This is a steadily growing collection of photos contributed by website users. In fact, it is now the largest part of this website. Click here to see the menu. (Updated May 8, 2013)

• Please see my ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY website which now has several hundred photos.
•   1st Battalion of the Midland Regiment, 1942. This panoramic photo, taken at Niagara On The Lake, is about 4 feet long and 8 inches high. You can see a small version here but a link to an almost original size version is also provided. (Added February 8, 2013)
•   Canadian Women's Auxilliary Air Force (CWAAF), 1942. This panoramic photo, taken in Toronto, shows the Officers and NCO's of the 1st Squadron, January 1st, 1942. Of the 97 women shown, 10 names are given: A/S/O Bacque, S/O Bather, Cpl Burton, Sgt Ferguson, Cpl Griffin, Cpl Hall, F/O Hime, Cpl McMillan, Cpl Russell, A/S/O Taylor. You can see a small version here but a link to an almost original size version is also provided. (Added February 8, 2013)
•   Directorate of Procurement Aircraft, 1942. This panoramic photo, taken at Airforce HQ, (Toronto? Ottawa?), shows a mixed bag of about 250 military and civilian men and women. You can see a small version here but a link to an almost original size version is also provided. (Added February 8, 2013)

• In Newfoundland you are never very far from the dead. Graveyards greet you at the entrance to every village, and memorials can be found on nearly every headland overlooking the sea. I noticed two major differences between graves in Newfoundland and those in Ontario -- many headstones with dates well into the 1970's are the thin, white (limestone?) tablets common a century ago, and which can be seen in any mainland "Pioneer" cemetery. The second thing I noticed was the terrible state of many of the cemeteries -- weed-choked with the stones twisted and tumbling at every angle. Many of the cemeteries are well-kept and neat, but the ruins seem to be a significant minority. These photos were taken in late September or early October, 2005.
• Keels, Anglican Cemetery. Keels has to be one of the most remote and starkly beautiful villages I've ever seen. Our guidebook said that the earliest graves in this cemetery are dated from the late 1700's.
• Kings Cove Cemetery. A few kilometers down the road from Keels is the larger village of Kings Cove. It boasts at least two churches and a beautiful harbour. This graveyard, probably the Anglican, is larger and if possible, even more bedraggled than the one in Keels.

• My grandmother's family (Long) had lived in Princeton, Minnesota since the late 1860's or so. Her father, Solomon Long, ran a shoe store there. After she married my grandfather (Karl (Charles) Ludvig Carlson) in 1905, she lived with him in various small towns in North Dakota, as well as in Kensington, Minnesota (see the photos in the section below). They and their three children moved back to Princeton in 1922. These are only a few of a large collection of Princeton Minnesota photos I inherited from my mother.
  •   Old Whittier Schoolhouse in Princeton, 1890s. Many thanks to Sandra Stark for providing many of the student & staff names. This is identified as my grandmother's (Anna Long) school in Princeton. She was born in 1879, so based on her apparent age in the photo it was taken about 1890. This large group consists of all ages from young children to teenagers and teachers. Can you help to identify people? (Updated June 3, 2012)
  • Three Princeton gals, about 1900. Anna Long, Orpha Saxon and Blanche Byers.
  • Princeton Minnesota graduating class of 1925. Group portraits of the graduating class from Princeton High School.
  • Princeton High School Class, 1927 to 1930.This is my aunt Cathryn Carlson's high school class. She graduated in 1930, but many of the kids look too young to be graduating. This may be her freshman class, which would make the year about 1927. Can you help to identify people?
  • Princeton High School, The Tiger, 1930 Yearbook. Scans of all but the advertising pages of The Tiger, with transcription of all names. This copy belonged to my aunt Cathryn Carlson and it is full of hand-written inscriptions from many of her friends and teachers.

• My mother's family (Carlson) lived in various small towns in North Dakota and Minnesota between 1905 and the 1930's. My grandfather was a miller and later a mill manager so the family moved often. Keeping track of where they lived at different times is difficult and identifying the locations of a large number of photographs is almost impossible. Here are a very few which show outdoor locations. Can you identify where they are? The Carlsons homesteaded near Tolley (see the two "claim shack" photos below) soon after 1905, but eventually moved into Kenmare where my mother was born in 1908. They also lived in Kensington, Minnesota and Crosby, North Dakota at different times, and moved to Princeton, Minnesota in 1922 (see the photos in the section above).
  • Eight photos probably taken in Crosby, ND. One photo is dated April 1, 1917. Most of the photos show people outside with buildings in the background. One may have been taken in Minnesota.
  • Crosby, ND, about 1918, 33 photos. A small album about half full of photos, mostly of the Carlson and Hanmer children.
  • Unknown group of people, prairie setting. The people in this group seem to be related to either the Carlson or Long families. I can see family resemblances in at least two of them but my mother had no idea who they were. This is a link to one of my genealogy website pages.
  • Sanish, North Dakota, cattle roundup, about 1934. Six photos from my mother's album. She taught school in Sanish for a year or so. The town has now been obliterated because of the building of the Garrison Dam.
  • "Claim shacks" near Tolley, ND, about 1907. My grandparents homesteaded near Tolley, ND soon after they were married in 1905. They lived in a "claim shack" and my grandmother's good friend Blanche (Byers) Stark lived in her own shack about 100 yards away. Two photos.
  •   "More photos, possibly of people in Tolley, ND. Many thanks to Sandy Stark for these three photos. One of them is a portrait of Anna Long and Blanche (Byers) Stark. (Added May 15, 2012)

• These lists contain 3381 names from the 1918 "Guidal Directory Of Lanark County," scanned from photocopies of the originals in the Perth Museum. Please note that this is not a complete directory -- North Sherbrooke and Lavant Townships are missing. And although many people are indicated as living in various towns, there are no lists for owners of property within Perth, Carleton Place, Smiths Falls, etc.
  • Bathurst Township. 449 names.
  • Beckwith Township. 290 names.
  • North & South Burgess Townships. 188 names.
  • Dalhousie Township. 206 names.
  • Darling Township. 123 names.
  • Drummond Township. 450 names.
  • North & South Elmsley Townships. 324 names.
    • (South Elmsley Twp. is in Leeds County).
  • Lanark Township. 287 names.
  • Montague Township. 365 names.
  • Pakenham Township. 253 names.
  • Ramsay Township. 312 names.
  • South Sherbrooke Township. 134 names.

• These two documents are in the collection of the Metro Toronto Reference Library, and can be found in the Baldwin Room, indexed under "Lanark County" and "McFarlane, John." Both documents were microfilmed in 1941, but the film is unreadable, being almost completely black. Luckily, the original documents had been photocopied, and the library staff were able to copy the original photocopies for me. Both journal and letter are extremely fragile. I transcribed the two documents several years ago for the Lanark County Genealogy Society website, but their website ran out of storage space so they weren't used. I discovered the files on an old backup CD, so here they are.
• The Journal of John McFARLANE, 1821. Sailing from Geenock on May 19, 1821, this family endured many hardships by the time they started clearing their land near Lanark Village in August.
• Letter from John McFARLANE Sr. to his son John, 1829. His son John being the writer of the journal above. John Sr. was left behind in Scotland and has mostly woeful news for his son.
•  
• DESCENDANTS OF JOHN McFARLANE
• Ancestors Of The McFarlane Family In Lanark Township. This document by Linda Horyn traces the descendants of John McFarlane, Sr. (father of the journal writer and author of the letter above).

• I found the above-titled book in an Ottawa bookstore several years ago. When I got around to looking at it recently I found a Certificate of Baptism and a colour photo stuck inside. The certificate is self-explanatory, but the photograph needs you to help with identification. Please see below.
  • Baptismal Certificate of Margaret Jean Stuart. Daughter of Horace Stuart and Sarah Reid, born June 7th, 1923, in Yorkton SK, baptised 23 December, 1923.
  • Class photo of 37 boys, all about eight years of age. They are well-dressed, some with school jackets, and I'm speculating it was taken at a private school, but Upper Canada College and Ashbury College have been ruled out through email enquiries. Possibly mid to late 1960's.